TELEVISIONNew Ratings Champ?: With only a few...

TELEVISION

New Ratings Champ?: With only a few days left in the official 1994-95 TV season, NBC’s Thursday night powerhouses “Seinfeld” and “ER” are virtually assured of dethroning last year’s ratings winner, ABC’s “Home Improvement,” and becoming the 1-2 champs in the annual Nielsen ratings. NBC predicts that the 5-year-old “Seinfeld” will just squeak by the freshman drama “ER,” with the comedy expected to come in half a rating point ahead, even though “ER” will actually finish with a higher average market share. (One rating point equals 954,000 TV households, while the share is the percentage of sets in use in a particular time period; ratings, not share, determine the winner.) The season officially ends Sunday, so numbers could change slightly with the addition of this week’s shows, but so far, “Seinfeld” has an average 20.6 rating and 31 share to “ER’s” 20.1 rating and 33 share. The last time NBC did this well was in 1987-88, when “The Cosby Show,” “A Different World” and “Cheers” won the ratings trifecta. And on another “Seinfeld” note, actress-singer Bette Midler will guest on the series May 18, playing the star of a fictional Broadway musical.

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More Ratings: NBC landed its first “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” victory against CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” last week, with full-week national ratings of 4.7/14 share for Jay versus 4.4/14 share for Dave. But CBS on Thursday discounted the numbers, noting that Letterman was hampered by 15-to-30-minute delays on Monday, Thursday and Friday nights because of the NCAA basketball championships and Masters golf coverage. “If you’re not there from the beginning, you’ve lost them,” said a Letterman spokeswoman. “So we’re counting the (Tuesday and Wednesday) head-to-head numbers (Letterman’s 4.9/15 versus Leno’s 4.1/13) as the true numbers.” Still, the weekly win is a welcome boost for Leno, who has come close to victory twice before, with a tie in October and September numbers that won in major market overnights, but didn’t hold up in national ratings.

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‘Price Is Right’ Suit Dropped: Ex-”Price Is Right” model Dian Parkinson dropped her $8-million sexual harassment lawsuit against the show’s host, Bob Barker, on Wednesday, prompting Barker to consider bringing a retaliatory suit against Parkinson. “My attorney . . . has told me she believes we would prevail in a malicious prosecution lawsuit against Dian Parkinson, and we are discussing the feasibility of filing such a suit,” Barker said. “I am completely vindicated. If Dian Parkinson and her attorneys felt there was any possibility of winning this lawsuit, they never would have dismissed it.” Parkinson, however, said she stands by her claims, but dropped her Los Angeles lawsuit because of health problems. Parkinson sued Barker, Mark Goodson Productions Inc. and several of the show’s executives last June, claiming Barker repeatedly coerced her to have sex with him. Barker admitted having a fling with Parkinson, but said the sex was consensual.

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Expanded Streisand Concert: CBS will broadcast an expanded version of “Barbra Streisand: The Concert,” the HBO special culled from her 1994 concert tour, on May 21. The special, which was two hours on cable’s HBO, will be 2 1/2 hours on CBS, and will include never-before-televised material from the tour’s debut evening in Las Vegas, including a guest appearance by Mike Myers as Linda Richman. Also added is the song “What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life,” which Streisand performed only during her final tour concert, and a medley of songs from Disney animated films.

MOVIES

Stallone the Lobbyist: Sylvester Stallone’s latest role is a real-life one as a government lobbyist. The actor is urging Oregon legislators to support construction of a film production center in the state. Stallone is in the area filming “Assassins,” an action-thriller scheduled for release in the fall. A bill in the Legislature would allocate $3.25 million for an Oregon Film and Multimedia Production Center, with the rest of the $15.5 million needed to be raised privately. “States that have the ability to draw filmmaking should do so,” Stallone told six state senators who visited the movie set. “Films are becoming our greatest export.”

QUICK TAKES

A Texas woman has filed a paternity suit against actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, claiming he is the father of her 12-year-old daughter. In the lawsuit, Debra Wrenn claims she now needs Schwarzenegger’s support because her daughter has been diagnosed with a bone cyst that requires medical treatment she cannot afford. Schwarzenegger’s attorney said the actor has never met Wrenn and called the paternity allegation “totally false.” . . . The Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus has joined the ongoing protest over Miramax Films’ movie “Priest.” The 1.5-million-member group says it has sold its nearly $3-million worth of stock in the Walt Disney Co., which owns Miramax. The group’s leadership is also urging individual members to voice concerns about the film to Disney. . . . O.J. Simpson defense attorney F. Lee Bailey will be the guest on this month’s “. . . talking with David Frost,” airing April 30 on KCET-TV Channel 28. . . . And speaking of the Simpson trial, an “Entertainment Tonight” poll broadcast Thursday asked, “Are you sick and tired of the O.J. case?” It drew a positive response of 82%.